2008-? Suggestions (for functionality of Home)

For those that may have overlooked it, there was a 'change' in the latest July Suggestions thread (perhaps that's why it was delayed a week):

Tempest_Fire wrote:

Sorry for the delay, but here's the July 2013 version of the community suggestion thread.

Please feel free to suggest any content that you're interested in seeing in PlayStation Home. This is a thread for content suggestions (clothing, LMOs, spaces, etc.), not for functionality. Thanks, and have fun!

Additionally, I'll merge the three existing suggestion threads into this one. Thanks for taking initiative.

Tip For a good Suggestion Post:

Include screenshots If you can find a screenshot of what you want, please include it. Thanks in advance for collecting images, reference art, etc. to best illustrate just what you're talking about.

So it appears they no longer want any suggestions to the functionality of Home, at least not in that thread... But curiously enough they didn't start a thread for functionality either.

So until they do, feel free to use this as a place to express your concerns and suggestions about the functionality of Home.

Sony's PlayStation Home updated mission statement...

"Like it never happened"

- Stand for something better than mediocrity and don't disguise it as adequate, when clearly it is far from that to anyone willing to be objective and unbiased. -

Re: 2008-? Suggestions (for functionality of Home)

We desperately need better communication and customer service from our Home managers and staff members on questions and issues with Home. Currently they spend 10x more time on these forums pushing new content than answering questions and addressing issues with Home and content that isn't new.

Better Item Management:

At the very least we need the same sorting and filtering options for items in storage that we have for items not in storage, and we desperately need a 2nd storage folder that is not a spillover so we can find items we want that are forced into storage. There isn't even an option to sort Inventory Items (LMO & Companions) by Last Used. At best they should add more folders (just as they have in the store - which seperates shirts, coats, and dresses). Ornaments is an especially bad folder as it lumps so many totally unrelated and different items together.

Separate Folders for Companions and LMOs:

Maybe even seperate folders for different types of LMOs, like Gestures, Dancing, and Moving LMOs. As it is now, the inventory folder and storage is a total mess for anyone who has a lot of companions and LMOs. If Sony wanted to sell more of these they desperately need to fix this issue.

Improve the Character Saves Folder:

As it is now, you have to wait until all of your character saves loads before you can pick one or save a new one. Instead of adding more character saves slots to the same folder as they did when they went from 9 to 24 and now to 48 for PS+ members, instead they should have multiple character save folders, with one page (12) saves each. This way not only will it take a lot less time to load your saves before using them, but we would also finally be able to organize our characters. For instance, you could use one folder for formal wear, another for swim wear, another for cosplay, etc, etc etc.

Restore the Crippled Targetting System:

It used to be we could target any item in our spaces, which allowed us to use chairs as quick transporters without using up unnecessary slots, and saving a lot of time getting around. Now some items you can't even target when they are RIGHT in front of you. The idea this was some kind of improvement is laughable.

Allow for More Creativity:

This is a virtual world and there is plenty in Home that is not realistic and has no bearing on real world physics, so why then does Sony continue to cripple the creativity of users in their own personal spaces? If Sony allowed people to be more creative, especially in their own personal spaces, it would drastically increase their user base - and sales of these spaces and items they use to be creative with. Instead they have time after time taken away creative ways of decorating spaces and using those spaces. For instance, we should be able to place items any where we like, even floating in the air. Yes, there are glitches that allow you to still do that, but it should be a feature not a glitch.

Update Older Active Items:

The problem with most older active items is that they were assigned the default max 22 slot allocation, even though clearly many would only require as little as 1 slot. While some developers are starting to update their older active items to lower their slot allocation, Sony has so far refused to do that. The claim made by certain people is that the cost would not be worth it, but after speaking with someone from Digital Leisure, they said they were able to update their active item arcades from 22 slots to just 1 at practically no cost, and was very simple to do. Furthermore, if these older active items got updated to use fewer slots, it would only encourage many to buy them that did not before due to the slot amount being so excessive. Not only that, but by using fewer slots, it will allow users to add more items to their spaces, thus encourage more sales of other items as well.

The Ability to Save Multiple Layouts of Our Spaces:

Prior to 1.75, it was possible to do this by making copies of the individual space files, but to switch layouts you had to quit Home and copy the file(s) you wanted to switch to and then restart Home... But that was still a lot faster than removing all the items from a space and redecorating each and every time. This allowed people to have special holiday themes to their spaces, some which easily took days to make. 1.75 however made all that effort useless as we can no longer simply swap files. While they should have thought of that BEFORE going live with 1.75, the least they can do is add a feature that allows us to save multiple layouts. Doing so would also promote the sale of more items to use to decorate those layouts with.

Ability to Sort Our Personal Spaces and Tag some as Favorites:

As it is now, the more spaces you own the more difficult and time consuming it is to try and find them in the list of spaces. It would be very useful if we could tag some of them as favoroites so they are listed at the top. At the very least they should list them Alphabetically. Instead, as it is now, you have to try and remember when you bought the space in order to find it.

Improve the Organization of Public Spaces:

In NA Home, not only do they only list the publiv spaces alphabetically, but many of those spaces are not even in the correct order based on the name of the space as shown in the list. In other regions, spaces are also orhanzied by developer and even genre - which makes finding these space much easier than what we currently have in NA Home.

Improve the Shopping Experience in Home:

The fact that shopping in Home has only gotten worse lately makes you wonder if Sony really cares about sales in Home. The removal of the Shears store has made it far more dificult to shop for hair items. For one, there should be more grouped store categories, not less - like Shears. For another, all stores should be available and easy to find in the Nav menu for quick purchases. For another, ALL items should offer a preview, and not just single wardrobe items. If it has special animation, then there should be a video preview option to click on. For furnishings, in order to see the actual size, they should have a preview pic option that shows the item next to an average size avatar.

Bring Back Game Related Content:

Even if AAA game developers no longer are interested in making or even licensing content for Home, Sony should at the very least be offering Home related content for their own games, like they used to.

Improve the Ignore & Block Options:

We should have the ability to make the avatar of someone that we are ignoring or blocking to disappear from our view - and not just make it appear as though they are looking away from us. This way it would give each person the ability to decide for themselves what they feel is appropriate or not in the space they are in. If they are offended by something they see, they should have an option to make that avatar disappear from their view.

Not only that, but it should also make our avatar disappear from their view. As it is, even if you ignore or block someone, from their POV they can continue to harass our avatar for the amusement of their friends around them. If instead our avatar disappears from their view, it would end the incentive of abuse. If we had the option to make them vanish that would help a great deal.

Belonging to More Clubs:

We should be able to belong to more than 5 clubs at a time.

Adding More Members to a Club:

We should be able to have more members in a club than just how many can fit in a clubhouse at one time - that way you don't have to constantly delete members and re-invite others to join in order for everyone to be able to get into the clubhouse at any given time.

As posted recently...

The BIGGEST problem with how Home is being managed and why it desperately needs new leadership is...

Communication / Customer Relations

It doesn't really exist any more. The best we can hope for is to see the occasional post from GlassWalls promoting new content or making what he thinks is a funny joke. Try and get anyone from the Home staff to respond to requests, suggestions, and issues with the service is like trying to pull teeth from an alligator.

If there are limitations to what they can do, then they should say so (and make it a sticky), and explain in detail why. As we have seen them make claims before that something wasn't possible only to see it added later. Bottom line - don't lie to your customers.

If they are working on it, let us know.

The silent treatment doesn't work, and someone at Sony should tell that to our Home team - or fire them and hire people who understand the value of customer relations.

Many of the often requested changes to the service are clearly very easy to do - like allowing us to tag personal spaces as favorites, sorting Inventory items (LMOs & Companions) by Last Used (just as we can with our other item folders). Adding the same sort and filter options for all our folders... and yes, even adding a 2nd storage folder that isn't a spillover... Among many other simple changes that would drastically improve the service.

But not only have they not done any of this, they wont even comment about it.

Home is one of the worst run software projects I have ever personally experienced. It wasn't always this way, as things were much better run the first couple years, but since then communication, customer service, support, and system reliability have fallen drastically.

If the people currently in charge can't figure this out, then Sony needs to bring in a new team who can.

The impression I get from our current Home staff is that they are acting like they are on a slowly sinking ship, and just doing the minimum to collect their pay checks until the ship finally goes under. They certainly do not give me the impression that they take a lot of pride in their job, nor do they act like there is a bright future ahead of them in the position they are in.

However, I also know its possible for them to change that impression, but so far it doesn't appear they have any interest in doing so.

At this rate, I'll be very surprised if Home is even up and running a year from now... Or if it is still running, I suspect it will be mostly populated by drifters and hackers, and a few die hard loyalists unwilling to cut ties.

This is not to say I believe it's too late to save Home. Far from it. I still see tremendous potential in the service. But with every passing month as I see old issues going unresolved and new ones popping up, and no improvement in customer relations and communication - my faith that Sony even knows what they are doing any more continues to dwindle away.

The fact that Sony still labels Home as a beta project, even after all these years, yet they no longer support it like they did in the early years, and like most beta projects are supported - suggests to me that they are close to giving up on it. I hope I'm wrong, but that's the impression I get from their actions (and/or lack thereof).

There have been rumors that Sony may hand over management of Home to one of the 3rd party developers, and while unlikely - at this point, maybe that would be the best thing for everyone.

Sony's PlayStation Home updated mission statement...

"Like it never happened"

- Stand for something better than mediocrity and don't disguise it as adequate, when clearly it is far from that to anyone willing to be objective and unbiased. -

Re: 2008-? Suggestions (for functionality of Home)

Not sure why you continue with this anymore. You have to know by now you are not going to miraculously get everything you ask for as far as replies or functionality. You'll get a great argument going(Not that they aren't entertaining.) of course but isn't that what you're really going for with these weekly threads anyways?

Besides, I have seen hearitwow give you strait and honest answers that I knew to be true and still you argued a false point. I don't see that changing if Sony answered every one of your questions either.

Re: 2008-? Suggestions (for functionality of Home)

"Not sure why you continue with this anymore. You have to know by now you are not going to miraculously get everything you ask for as far as replies or functionality." -Jer

Thats like saying "Well, Home is never gonna change. Were never gonna get the answers to our questions and quality of service is never gonna improve. We might as well just learn to live with it and deal with Home the way it is."

How can anyone take this stance, and justify it with unfounded logic? o_O

If this was an auto mechanic working on your car, would you be so "ho hum" about it?

If this was a PC Repair shop working on your computer, would you have the same disposition?

If this was your internet service provider workin on your lines, would you shake it off like it's no big deal if they couldnt answer your questions, or continously give you the run around?

I fail to see how this is any different. Yeah, it's a beta...and the core client is FREE...BUT a lot of us has dumped a LOT of cash into this thing, not to mention hours upon hours of personal time. We have defended it. We have stood up for it and we have been loyal to it.

Point blank - we deserve BETTER than this!

I'm A Shadow. One That No Light Will Shine On. As Long As You Follow Me....You Will Never See The Day.

Re: 2008-? Suggestions (for functionality of Home)

Answer, you're not making a difference. Name a few things where you have made a difference? You like to argue. I seen others make valid points like here and now and you never accept it. You're always right. If you get to feeling you're losing a arguement you start spewing the insults and making accusations.. . You reread your last few posts toward me and see. lol.

Re: 2008-? Suggestions (for functionality of Home)

IDK about that Jer, I think they're all good suggestions, most of which the community has been wanting for a very long time. In fact, I would even add a couple points to the list:

- Bring back the option to sort wardrobe and furniture items *in storage* by last used.- Give us more control over sorting items by allowing us to add tags like casual, formal, costume, Lockwood, Granzella, pink, red, blue, hoodie, jeans, skirt, wedges, etc.- Let us store and favorite hairstyles. I hate having to wait for the horrible default styles to load just to get to the good stuff!- Make it easier to send messages to the entire club roster. I know you can send XMB messages to 12 friends at a time, but sometimes there are several club members who aren't on my list. There should be an easier way to communicate to all online and offline club members, since not everyone checks the bulletin board regularly.- Separate tabs for picture frames and *other* wall hangings. Since frames can't be used in clubhouses, we should at least be able to use non-frame wall hangings, like posters, hanging shelves, wall art, etc.

That being said...D: you should realize Tempest has a double-workload at the moment with Glass' departure and maybe cut him a little slack for the time being. From the few conversations I've had with Tempest, I get the impression that he understands the community better than his predecessor, and could make some positive changes, given the chance.

(Also, as far as I know, the Home core client devs are in EU, so in this particular case, he'd basically just be passing the info along to them.)

Jer: I know you and Glass were nauseatingly buddy-buddy, but he wasn't the perfect Community Manager and it doesn't help that you speak for Tempest as if he's still your old buddy Glass. Try letting people get to know him a bit. Not sure how Hearitwow's answers are relevant here either, but TBH, I missed that convo. Unless he started working for Home though, I can see why his answers weren't immediately accepted as the final word.

Now, back to your corners, boys! *Passes out sammiches and Dr. Pepper*